Motive
by jayer
Summary: Greg Sanders was a brilliant student who could have picked a dozen things to do with his life. So why did he choose to work in a crime lab? [post 6.17]
1. Chapter 1

Greg pulled into the circle in front of the building. Parking spaces there were considered premium and unlikely to find empty but the rain was starting to pick up and he'd never been fond of getting soaked. The day was already shitty enough without having wet socks.

To his surprise a space was open just a few feet away from the building entrance. Greg quickly pulled in and made a dash for the lobby entrance. It was basically empty since most of the students were in class. Greg sighed thinking about all the nights he'd spent studying, hanging out, even sleeping in that very room. When he first came to college, he wanted to blaze through it, even taking classes during the summer to avoid going home, so he could graduate and move on into the real world. Now that he was finished, a part of him wanted to still be there. Still spending every possible moment with the best friends that had accepted him from day one and encouraged him to find himself, even if that meant enduring his various phases. In the end he'd found a version of himself that wasn't punk or surfer boy or goth or grunge or prep or anything. It was a bit of this and that and it felt right.

Greg caught himself before he opened the door out of habit. The room had been his home for 3 years but it didn't seem right to just saunter in. It wasn't his room anymore. So he knocked and waited for the door to open.

"Hey Greg." Max smiled at his old roommate. "You could have just come in, dude."

"I wasn't sure." Greg enveloped his friend in a hug. A real hug, not that weird half touching faux hug most guys did. It was one of those society things that Greg never really understood, this issue with straight guys hugging. He and Max and Kyle had often gotten weird looks on campus when they showed physical affection on campus. Especially when they walked around with arms around each others shoulders or waists. But they didn't care.

"Hey Maya." Greg strode over to give her a hug, planting a soft kiss on her cheek. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine." Her voice said otherwise. "I'm just having a hell of a time with my hair."

Greg laughed before he could stop himself. Max and his twin sister Maya were half Apache and had adopted the tradition of not cutting their hair. Both had long black hair that reached down past their waists when loose. Greg had spent many a night while they were all watching TV, brushing Maya's hair and helping her braid it.

"I've got this." Greg waved Maya over to his former bed. He quickly had her hair braided and fastened into a bun just like Lucy had taught him. Lucy. The memory made his breath catch.

"Thanks." Maya smiled softly before reaching up to straighten his tie. "We should go."

Max held out a long rain jacket for his sister to slide into before putting on his own.

"Is Kyle meeting us there?"

"Kyle isn't coming." Maya said in a blunt tone as she walked out of the room.

Greg gently grabbed Max's arm as they followed a few feet behind. "What happened?"

"Kyle opened his mouth and choked on his own ass." Max said, trying to keep his voice low and calm.

"What does that mean?"

"Kyle was raised Catholic." Max said as an explanation.

"What does that— oh crap he didn't." Greg shook his head.

"Yep. Told my sister he wouldn't go because Lucy was going to rot in hell. I mean he was kind of drunk at the time but you just don't say that to your girlfriend about her best friend."

"What did Maya say?"

"Not much. She slapped him and said something about being sorry she ever got back together with him." Max shrugged. "I know the guy's a friend but she could do better. Should have been dating you."

Greg shook off the thought. Maya and Kyle had been a couple before he came along and they were all friends. Despite thinking she was pretty attractive and despite the two of them having a rather on again off again thing, Greg never felt right to even consider snatching a friend's girlfriend or even ex girlfriend. Certainly not while the two of them were roommates. It would just be too weird.

And the day was already too weird and uncomfortable burying one of their own.


	2. Chapter 2

"Mrs Randall. I'm so sorry for your loss" Greg held out his hand to the older woman. She hardly seemed like the same woman that insisted they all come over for dinner on Saturday nights when the cafeteria was closed. She was always so full of smiles and laughs and jokes about Greg's latest hair experiment or his pierced ears or his surfer necklaces. Now she seemed empty.

"Thank you Greg." She pulled him into a hug. "Lucy was so fond of you."

"She was one of my best friends." Greg nodded.

"How are you holding up?" So typical she'd be mothering him just like always.

"I'm fine."

"Well you call me if you need anything, okay."

"Thank you." Greg caught sight of Max waving from across the room.

"I gotta get out of here." Max said softly.

"Okay. Let me grab my jacket."

"No, it stopped raining and I think I want to walk for a bit. Can you just make sure Maya gets home?"

"Of course." Greg gave his friend a hug. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. I think I'm going to go over to my studio for a while." Max, ever the artist had a student studio in the art building. Most guys drank or punched out their feelings, Max painted his out.

"Well if you want to talk you have my number."

"You too, man." Greg watched Max walk down the drive through the picture window before he turned back into the soft murmuring of the various students and faculty who had come to the house after the funeral.

"Gregory." Dr Randall, Lucy's father and his former advisor, called to him as he wandered into the den looking for Maya.

"Dr Randall." Greg nodded. "It was a beautiful service."

"Thank you for coming."

"Of course. I just wish I wasn't visiting under these circumstances."

"So do I." The older man nodded. "It was just so unexpected."

Greg couldn't think of anything to say. Unexpected was barely the word for it. None of them had had a clue. And now it was too late.

"Maya tells me you're going to travel for a bit."

"Yeah, I inherited some money from my grandfather when he passed. He had it in a trust that I could get when I was 21. It's not much but I thought I'd visit Norway, see where my family is from first hand. We went when I was little but I really don't remember much of it."

"And then what? Graduate school? Med school?"

"My parents would love for me to go to med school and I did get accepted to UCLA medical and the graduate chemistry program plus a couple of other schools thanks to some great letters of recommendation."

"Your grades got you into those schools young man, I just made sure they took a good look at what was there."

"Well all the same, thank you for that."

"It was my pleasure. Now if you will excuse me I should see how Lucy's mother is doing."

"Hey Greg." Maya slipped up behind him, "I'm going to go."

"I'll drive you home."

"You don't have to."

"I was thinking about leaving anyway." Greg didn't want to tell her about his promise to Max. Maya wasn't fond of her brother's protectiveness, especially when he was born 10 minutes after her making him the younger brother.

"Okay. I'll just tell Max."

"Actually he left a little while ago. I was looking for you to tell you when I ran into Dr Randall."

They were quiet on the drive back to the dorms.

"Do you think you could come up for a little while?" Maya asked softly. "I don't really want to be alone."

"Sure." Greg pulled into a parking space. He followed Maya up to her room in silence. Most of Lucy's things were already in boxes.

"I told Dr Randall, I'd pack up Lucy's stuff for him." Maya said as she caught him looking at the almost empty space. "Could you unzip me?"

Greg unfastened Maya's dress and turned away while she changed.

Greg picked up a photo that was still on the desk. The five of them sitting on the steps outside of the chemistry building showing off the tattoos they had gotten in a fit of oddity. Greg spotted another photo of Lucy grinning like a cheshire cat as Max dipped her in a fake dance move. How had they not noticed something was wrong.

"You wanna something to drink?" Maya asked from across the room.

"Sure."

"I'm having a beer but I've got some soda"

"Beer sounds great." Greg wasn't much of a drinker but it was one of those days where a beer seemed like a good idea. Greg pulled off his tie and jacket, draping them over the desk chair and dropped onto the sofa next to Maya who had traded her black dress for a pair of shorts and a tee shirt.

"To Lucy." Greg tilted the bottle in a toast. "May she been in a peaceful place wherever that is."

"To Lucy." Maya nodded and took a swig of her beer before snuggling up against Greg.


End file.
